Sexual violence against women from sub-Saharan Africa
after migration to France

Authors: Julie Pannetier, Andrainolo Ravalihasy, Annabel Desgrées du Loû, France Lert and Nathalie Lydié for the Parcours survey team

As victims begin to speak out and new surveys are conducted, a clearer picture of sexual violence against women is emerging. But little is known about how immigrant women are affected. Drawing on data from the Parcours survey, Julie Pannetier and her colleagues describe the sexual violence experienced by women from sub-Saharan Africa after arriving in France and explain the factors behind their vulnerability.

The Parcours survey conducted in 2012–2013 in health facilities across the Paris region (Île-de-France) sheds light on sexual violence experienced by immigrant women from sub-Saharan Africa after migration and the social contexts in which it occurs; residential and administrative insecurity are factors of increased risk. One-third of surveyed women with HIV were infected after migration, and they reported experience of forced sexual intercourse 4 times more frequently than uninfected women.

Released on: 13/05/2020